Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) by Gregory Gates Page A
Authors: Gregory Gates
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– or perhaps not so anxiously – awaiting the arrival
of their friends, loved ones or business associates, he wondered if any of them
had the slightest inkling of the momentous nature of the occasion. He half
wanted to grab someone, shake them and scream in their face, “We’re going to
Mars! Life on this little planet will forever be changed, and you can tell your
grandchildren that you were there when it all began!” But he figured getting
hauled off by the airport police could put a damper on the weekend. Ah well,
they can all read about it in the paper.
Looking toward the gates Jeff saw a
line of passengers heading in his direction. At the same time nervous, excited,
and a bit apprehensive, he squinted, carefully scanning the faces, hoping to
see a familiar one. He suddenly caught a glimpse of flashing red hair and
instantly connected it with Abby’s face. She was no longer sporting a bun, but
wearing the long copper tresses down, and the cascade of red waved and danced
as she snapped her head to the side smiling and making some comment to… Gabe.
Jeff smiled to himself; it was bound to happen as the first-class seats he had
reserved for the three women were clustered together. And there, half hidden
behind Gabe was Susan, attentively listening to the conversation, and
struggling a bit to keep pace with the long strides of the other two. As they
approached, Jeff tried to subdue his excitement and consciously rubbed his
palms on his trousers – clammy hands simply would not do.
Susan was the first to spot him. She nudged Gabe
with her elbow, pointed and waved. Gabe and Abby quickly peered into the
waiting crowd and finally landing their eyes on him, followed suit. Jeff raised
his arm high, smiled broadly and waved in return. He pointed toward an open
area and began threading his way through the crowd.
“Ha! My three favorite people all
in a bunch; I guess we can skip the introductions.”
They all laughed. Abby grabbed his
arm, “Yeah, Gabe and I had it sorted out before we got off the ground in
Chicago, and Sue joined the club before we were out of Illinois.”
Jeff shook hands with each in turn,
“Great to see you all. Did you have a good flight?”
They all nodded, “Yes,” “Just
fine,” with Abby noting, “I’ve never flown first-class before. Sweet. Thanks.
That was very nice.”
To which Gabe added, “I’ve never seen first-class before.”
“Oh, you’re welcome. I’m just so
glad that you could all come.” He saw that all of them were carrying some
manner of overnight bag, “Any checked luggage?”
They responded with a chorus of ‘no’s. “Great. The
car’s out this way,” and he led them off. He was thankful they didn’t all
arrive with steamer trunks, thinking, they know how to pack light, that’ll be
useful. A separate launch for hair conditioner, toiletries, shoes and 900
changes of clothes just wasn’t in the budget.
As they approached the terminal’s
front door Jeff stopped short. “Hold up a second.” He stepped over to Gabe and
gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, “Congratulations… Dr. Frederick.”
She smiled, a bit embarrassed,
“Thank you. You remembered.”
“Of course. I watched the webcast
of your commencement exercise. Very impressive.” Turning to Abby and Susan, “In
case she was too modest to mention it, last Friday Gabe received her Ph.D. in
Aeronautics and Applied Physics from Caltech.”
There were congratulations all
around and Abby added, “Oh, fine. There’ll be no living with you now.”
They piled into the Escalade, left
the airport, turned onto I-95, and headed south. “It’s about a 45-minute drive
down to Newport. Have any of you been here before? Abby, you’ve been here,
haven’t you?”
“No, never made it up this way.”
Gabe, sitting next to Jeff in the
front seat, said, “I have, once. Came down while I was at MIT just to look
around. Interesting place. Very pretty.”
“Did you tour any of the
of their friends, loved ones or business associates, he wondered if any of them
had the slightest inkling of the momentous nature of the occasion. He half
wanted to grab someone, shake them and scream in their face, “We’re going to
Mars! Life on this little planet will forever be changed, and you can tell your
grandchildren that you were there when it all began!” But he figured getting
hauled off by the airport police could put a damper on the weekend. Ah well,
they can all read about it in the paper.
Looking toward the gates Jeff saw a
line of passengers heading in his direction. At the same time nervous, excited,
and a bit apprehensive, he squinted, carefully scanning the faces, hoping to
see a familiar one. He suddenly caught a glimpse of flashing red hair and
instantly connected it with Abby’s face. She was no longer sporting a bun, but
wearing the long copper tresses down, and the cascade of red waved and danced
as she snapped her head to the side smiling and making some comment to… Gabe.
Jeff smiled to himself; it was bound to happen as the first-class seats he had
reserved for the three women were clustered together. And there, half hidden
behind Gabe was Susan, attentively listening to the conversation, and
struggling a bit to keep pace with the long strides of the other two. As they
approached, Jeff tried to subdue his excitement and consciously rubbed his
palms on his trousers – clammy hands simply would not do.
Susan was the first to spot him. She nudged Gabe
with her elbow, pointed and waved. Gabe and Abby quickly peered into the
waiting crowd and finally landing their eyes on him, followed suit. Jeff raised
his arm high, smiled broadly and waved in return. He pointed toward an open
area and began threading his way through the crowd.
“Ha! My three favorite people all
in a bunch; I guess we can skip the introductions.”
They all laughed. Abby grabbed his
arm, “Yeah, Gabe and I had it sorted out before we got off the ground in
Chicago, and Sue joined the club before we were out of Illinois.”
Jeff shook hands with each in turn,
“Great to see you all. Did you have a good flight?”
They all nodded, “Yes,” “Just
fine,” with Abby noting, “I’ve never flown first-class before. Sweet. Thanks.
That was very nice.”
To which Gabe added, “I’ve never seen first-class before.”
“Oh, you’re welcome. I’m just so
glad that you could all come.” He saw that all of them were carrying some
manner of overnight bag, “Any checked luggage?”
They responded with a chorus of ‘no’s. “Great. The
car’s out this way,” and he led them off. He was thankful they didn’t all
arrive with steamer trunks, thinking, they know how to pack light, that’ll be
useful. A separate launch for hair conditioner, toiletries, shoes and 900
changes of clothes just wasn’t in the budget.
As they approached the terminal’s
front door Jeff stopped short. “Hold up a second.” He stepped over to Gabe and
gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, “Congratulations… Dr. Frederick.”
She smiled, a bit embarrassed,
“Thank you. You remembered.”
“Of course. I watched the webcast
of your commencement exercise. Very impressive.” Turning to Abby and Susan, “In
case she was too modest to mention it, last Friday Gabe received her Ph.D. in
Aeronautics and Applied Physics from Caltech.”
There were congratulations all
around and Abby added, “Oh, fine. There’ll be no living with you now.”
They piled into the Escalade, left
the airport, turned onto I-95, and headed south. “It’s about a 45-minute drive
down to Newport. Have any of you been here before? Abby, you’ve been here,
haven’t you?”
“No, never made it up this way.”
Gabe, sitting next to Jeff in the
front seat, said, “I have, once. Came down while I was at MIT just to look
around. Interesting place. Very pretty.”
“Did you tour any of the
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